Brake



Nov.v27, 1945. R, A. GoEPFRlcH BRAKE Filed Aug. l, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1E. 1- 35 INVENTOR dfz/Jouw Aoffi/c/f 'l W95/Vey lll y Nov. 217,' 1945.

R. A. GOEPFRICH BRAKE Filed Ag 1, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 27, 1945. R. A. OEPFRICH BRAKE Filed Aug. 1, 1942 INVENTQR. B Paauw/A. MPF/MW 5 N .umm

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Patented Nov. 27,1945

UNITED STATE BRAKE Rudolph A; Goepfrch, South Bend, Ind., assignor .to Bendix Aviation Corporation, South Bend, AInd., a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1942, Serial No. 453,237

3 Claims.

This invention relates to brakes of `the internal shoe drum type and particularly to automatic adjusting mechanism for such brak.

It is the chief object of my invention to provide, for use with a brake having a'plurality of shoes which are individually shiftable to anchor at either end, the combination of means for auto.- imatically adjusting the position of the shoes rela- 'tive to the drum whenever shoe lining wear requires adjustment with means for taking up the slack created by such adjustment between one end of the-shoe and its anchor. To this end .I utilize a pair of shoes, a pair of hydraulic cylinders `which serve as applying and anchoring means for the shoes, a drum contact type automatic adjustment with each shoe, and automatic means for turning an adjusting screw which is inserted in one end of each hydraulic cylinder to move outwardly and followup the shoe after the shoe is automatically adjusted.

A supplementary object is to provide a drum actuated automatic adjustment having a drum actuated friction block so designed that lining dust cannot clog operation of the block. In earlier automatic adjustments of this type an angular opening or recess was made in the friction block which had a cam follower moving therein and which changed the position of the cam follower as the friction block was pushed inwardly with respect to the brake shoe. Some trouble has been encountered with the latter arrangement, and the design of the automatic adjustment shown in this application has therefore been improved to avoid Athe trouble referred to. A further object of the invention is to simplify the design of an automatically adjustable brake and to simplify the manufacturing operations used in making the brake.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the following description. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through a brake assembly on a plane just inside the head of a brake drum and showing the shoes in side elevation;

Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sectionstaken on the lines 2 2, 3 3, 4 4, and 5 5 respectively of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrows 6 6 of one of the hydraulic applying cylinders of Figure 1, the cylinder also serving as an anchor for the brake shoes;

Figure 7 is a section taken through a brake assembly showing a brake which is a modification of the brake of Figure 1 and a drum actuated au- Cl. 18S-79.5)

tomatic adjustment which is a modification of the automatic adjustment of Figure 1; and

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are sections taken on the lines 8 8, 9 9, and Ill-I0 respectively of Figure 7.

The brake of Figures 1 to 6 inclusive comprises generally a rotatable brake drum a non-rotatable support or backing plate |2, a pair of hydraulic Wheel cylinders I3 and I4 mounted on the backing plate, and a pair of brake shoes I5 and I6 which are arranged to be applied against the drum by the wheel cylinders I3 and I4 and each of which may anchor at either end against one of the wheel cylinders depending on the direction of drum rotation. Thus if the direction of rotation of the brake drum is forward asindicated by the arrow F in Figure 1 J shoe I5 will anchor` through cap I1 on wheel cylinder I3 and shoe I6 will anchor through cap I8 on wheel cylinder I4. If the drum is rotating in the rearward or opposite direction, shoe I 5 will anchor through cap |9 on wheel cylinder I4 and shoe I6 will anchor through cap 20 on wheel cylinder I3.

The arrangement of the brake is symmetrical in the sense that operation of the shoes and their applying and anchoring means is identical and description of the operation of one-half of the brake including one shoe serves as description Vof the operation of the other half. Each of the shoes I5 and I6 is provided with automatic adjusting mechanism which comprises a drum contact block 2 I, a cam follower'block 22, and a lever 23. Drum contact block 2| extends through an opening in, and has its outer surface flush With, the surface of shoe lining Ilia. One side of the dru'm contact block 2 I bears against a block 25 pivotally mounted on the shoe web |6b by a pin 26 (see Figure 3). The other side of drum contact block 2| which is inclined to form an angular surface 21 bears against the cam follower block 22. The drum contact block is also frictionally clamped to the shoe web by a spring 24. Block 22 is pivoted by a. pin 28 to the lever 23. Lever 23 in`turn is pivod by pin 29 to the shoe web and has an eX'n tending surface 30, which is adapted when the shoe is in released position to contact a stop 3| mounted on the backing plate. The stop 3| is eccentrically mounted on backing plate I2 and may be initially adjusted by manual means to the proper position; i. e. so that it will in its flxed position and when the shoe is new just contact the edge 30 of lever 23 when the shoe is in released position. Between one end of each shoe and the adjacent wheel cylinder there is provided an expansilble mechanism which serves to, in effect, spread the anchor in accordance with adjustment of the shoe made by the automatic adjustment mechanism described above. This expansible mechanism in each case includes (see Figure 4) a. threaded adjusting screw 32 screwed into an opening in cap I9 or 20. The outer periphery 33 of the screw head is ratcheted to form a series of teeth. An anchor plug 34 extendsinto a recess in the adjusting screw 32 and has its head bearing on one side against the head ofthe adjusting screw and on the other side against the web of the associated shoe. A pawl 35 to contact the teeth of the ratchet 33 is formed at one end of a bell crank lever 36 which is pivoted at 31 on the fixed casing of the wheel cylinder and which has an arm bent around the outside of the wheel cylinder with an elongated slot 38 (see Figure 5) near the end of the arm. A pin 39 is xed to the cap I9 or 20 and extends into slot 38 of the bell crank lever. The various parts of the brake are biased to released position andare maintained in proper relationship to one another by three pairs of springs. The springs 40 of one pair are relatively heavy and serve as return springs which normally bias the shoes toward released position. The springs 4I are each connected at one end to one of the shoes and at the other end to lever 36, hooking to the lever through slot 38. The springs 42 are compressed between the anchor plugs 34 ,and the bottom of the recesses in the adjusting screws 32.

Operation of my improved device will now be described. When the brakes are applied while the vehicle moves forward, in which case the drum rotates in the direction designated by the arrow F, shoe I6 is forced into the drum by piston I3a in cylinder I3 and anchors on cylinder I4.

Operation of the two shoes and their adjustments is identical and description of one is therefore intended to suflice for both. It will be noted that when this occurs, the lever 23 which is pivotally mounted on the brake shoe by means of pin 29, moves with the shoc and consequently leaves the stop pin 3l which is adjustably mounted in the backing plate. stop pin is for initial adjustment only, to comi `pensate for manufacturing tolerances. During a brake application,vthe drum contact block 2|, which has its edge flush with the lining face, and whichis located between block 25, pivotally mounted on the shoe by pin 26 and block 22 pivotally mountedon the pin 28, also moves Vwith the shoe.

1f, during a brake application, some lining is worn 01T, the drum contact block wi11,'because of Cil The adjustable feature in this Y its comparatively light resistance to movement and because of its high wear factor, be pushed back on the shoe, that is, toward the center of the brake. When this occurs, the angular face 21 on the drum contact block forces block 22 in the direction of arrow f1. This in turn causes lever 23 to pivot about pin 29 in the direction of arrow f2. Thus, as lining wears off, lever 23 takes a Anew position on the shoe, the movement being proportional to the lining worn off.

When the brakes are released, the shoe return springs 40 and the springs 4I, act on the shoe to hold it against lthe anchor cap I8 and the stop 3|.

' To assure that the shoe does not locate on anchor 20 and stop 3| instead of anchor I8 and stop 3I, spring 4I is provided 'to lessen the effect of the left side of spring 40 on shoe I6 and spring 42 is provided to increase the effect of the right side of spring 40 on shoe I6.

assert-'18 It will also be noted that when the brake was applied, the bell-crank lever 36 which is pivotally mounted on the cylinder was caused by outward movement of the cap ZII. by means of the pin 39 acting in slot 38 to rotate about pivot 31 in a direction designated by arrow f3. If now, the movement of cap 20 during a brake application was sufficient to cause the pawl 35 of bellcrank lever 36 to pick up a new tooth on the ratchet wheel of adjusting screw 33, and if the lever 23 has, due to lining wear, assumed a new position of such magnitude as to tend to create a gap between the end of shoe I6 and anchor plug 34, then spring 4I acts on the bell-crank lever to rotate it in a sense opposite to that shown by arrow f3, and thereby causes adjusting screw to be threaded out of the cap by the amount equivalent to one tooth on the ratchet wheel.

In the event that there is not sufficient lining worn off for the bell-crank lever 36 to pick up a tooth on the ratchet wheel 33 and yet there is enough movement of the cap 20, due to, say, drum expansion, for said bell-crank lever to pick up a tooth on the ratchet wheel, then no adjustment will be made because the strength of spring 4I is insuflicient to overcome the thread friction created by spring 40. However, as the lining wears, and the lever 23 repositions the shoe to tend to create a gap between the shoe and anchor plug, the adjustment will be made because the spring 4I is sufficiently strong to overcome the thread friction created by spring 42. Thus, at no time is there any danger of adjusting due to drum expansion resulting from heat generated by braking.

I This adjustment operates in reverse braking as well as forward braking, the only requirement being that enough lining is worn off so that the bell-crank lever can pick up a tooth on the ratchet wheel. Both shoes are, of course, adjusted individually and independently and in proportion to the amount of lining worn off.

AThe brake shown in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive comprises a rotatable drum 5I, a backing plate or support 52, a pair of brake shoes 53 and 54, pivoted respectively at 55 and 56 and applied by a hydraulic cylinder 51 between the shoes at their unpivoted ends. AAuxiliary mechanical mechanism comprising a thrust link 58 and a lever 59 may also be incorporated in the brake.

Automatic adjustment means is provided for shoe 53 which is the anchoring shoe when the drum is rotating in a forward direction as shown by arrow F in Figure 7 and which therefore receives most of the wear. The adjustment comprises a drum contact block 60 lying against the web of the shoe and extending through the rim and'lining of the shoe. The drum contact block is clamped to the shoe web by a fiat metal spring 6I. A lever 62 Ais pivoted at 63 yon shoe 53 and has a surface 64 contacting an inclined side of the drum contact block IiII. The other end of the lever` is adapted to contact a fixed stop 65. Inward movement of drum contact block 60 relative to the shoe caused by wear of the shoe lining exerts a' forceagainst surface 64 of lever 62 in the modification shown in Figures 1 to 6 the drum contact block has no recess which can be clogged with lining dust. The drum contact block is adequately supported to maintain its position against the shoe web and the surface of the drum contact block which is angular or cam shaped to control the adjusting lever is an exterior surface of the block.

While specific embodiments of my invention have been described in this application it is not my intention to limit the scope of my invention in any manner except by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a. brake having a drum, a backing plate, and a lined shoe adapted to be moved at times against the drum, automatic adjusting means for the shoe comprising a block member extending through the shoe and shoe lining and having its face flush with the face of theI lining so as to contact the drum when the shoe is moved against the drum, said block member being shifted inwardly relative to the shoe by wear of the shoe lining, a bearing member mounted on the shoe and contacting one side of said block member, a cam. follower block having surface contact with the other side of said block member and adapted to be shifted laterally as said block member moves inwardly, a lever pivoted to the cam follower block and to the shoe, and a stop mounted on the backing plate and arranged to Contact one end of the lever to hold the shoe in a released position' determined by the angular position of the lever.

2. In a'brake having a drum, a backing plate, and a lined shoe adapted to be moved at times against the drum, automatic adjustingmeans for the' shoe comprising a block member extending through the shoe and shoe lining and having its face flush with the face of the lining so as to contact the drum when the shoe is moved against the drum, said block member being shifted inwardly relative to the shoe by wear of the shoe lining, a bearing member mounted on the shoe and contacting one side of said block member, a cam follower block having surface contact with the other side of said block member and adapted to be shifted laterally as said block member moves inwardly, a fiat retaining member fixed to the cam follower block and bearing member and extending over the fiat surface of said block member to prevent displacement of said block member, a lever pivoted to the cam follower block and to the shoe, and a stop mounted on the backing plate and arranged to contact one end of the lever to hold the shoe in a releasedposition deter-l mined by the angular position of the lever.

3- A brake COmpI'iSiDg a rotatable drum, a friction element movable into contact with the drum,

an anchor at one end of the friction element, an l automatic adjusting means for maintaining constant clearance between the friction element and the drum, said automatic adjusting means including a fixed stop, resilient means biasing the friction element to a released position determined by the anchor and the stop, applying means at the end of the friction element opposite the anchor for moving the friction element against the drum, an expansible link between the applying means and the end of the shoe including an adjusting screw having a ratcheted outer periphery, and means responsive to the extent of applying movement of the applying means for expanding the expansible link, the last named means including a lever having a pawl engaging the ratcheted outer periphery of the adjusting screw and -means for causing said lever and pawl to, move in a direction tending to pick up a new tooth on the ratcheted adjusting screw whenever the applying means moves outwardly to actuate the friction element.

RUDOLPH A. GOEPFRICH. 

